The
Georgia-Russia War (2008)--After nearly two months of
border clashes between Georgia and its breakaway region
of South Ossetia, Georgia launched a major military
offensive against South Ossetia which prompted Russia to
intervene against Georgia.
On the morning of August
7, the Georgian army invaded South Ossetian territory and
moved on the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali. By the
end of August 8, the Georgians controlled most of the
city. When the war began, South Ossetia was defended by
only 2,500 Ossetian militia and fewer than 600 Russian
"peacekeeper" troops. Georgia's invasion force numbered
nearly 7,500 American and Israeli-trained troops, with
scores of tanks and armored personnel carriers. The
well-trained Georgians also enjoyed a technological
advantage over their foes; night-vision equipment and
aerial drones. Georgian artillery and air strikes landed
with effective precision due to their drone
eyes-in-the-sky. Russian forces facing the Georgians do
not have these technologies. Russian forces in South
Ossetia, though aware that a conflict was coming, were
caught by surprise by the timing of the Georgian
assault.
Events turned against the
Georgians immediately as the numerically greater Russian
Army crossed the border later on August 8, and battled
Georgian forces outside Tskhinvali. Russia already had
several hundred peacekeeping troops inside the city, who
had suffered casualties in Georgian air attacks. Russian
aircraft bombed the Georgian cities of Kareli, Gori,
Vaziani, near Tbilisi and the military airfield in
Marneuli, also near Tbilisi on August 8. This bombing
campaign was critical to Russia's rout of the Georgian
military. Russia has obviously learned from other recent
conflicts, including the Kosovo
War, their own
Chechen
Wars, and the
American Wars against Iraq
in the 1990s as
well as the current Iraq
War. In those
conflicts, swift and overpowering use of air power
against enemy military facilities, air bases, and
transportation and logistical targets disrupted the
defender's plans and enabled the invading forces a
powerful advantage.
Marat Kulakhmetov,
commander of the Russian forces in the region, claimed
that Georgian shelling had destroyed most of
Tskhinvali.
Russian media reported
heavy fighting between Russian and Georgian troops the
night of Aug. 8/9, and Georgia reported Russian planes
were bombing the Black Sea port of Poti.
On August 9, Russian
forces continued to enter South Ossetia, and continued to
bomb targets in Georgia. Reports also indicated that the
Russian navy was moving toward Georgia's Black Sea
coast.
By August 10, Russian air
power continued to dominate the skies above Georgia, with
bombing of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Also, the war
expanded to the naval front, with the Russian navy
deploying warships off the Georgian coast. The Kremlin
asserted that Russian forces sank a Georgian missile boat
that attempted to attack Russian naval forces off the
Black Sea coast. The Georgians said that Russian tanks
had invaded Georgia proper, having moved south out of
Ossetia into Georgian territory.
The Ukraine, where the
Russian ships are based, said that it had the right to
deny re-docking privileges to the ships upon their
return. Ukraine, like Georgia, has sought to move away
from Russian influence and seek to join NATO. Also on the
10th, American military transport aircraft began ferrying
Georgia's Iraq contingent back home to face the invading
Russians.
Russian and Abkhazian
troops moved into the Georgian-controlled Kodori Gorge on
on August 10, in a major expansion of the war. Russian
ground forces also attacked the Georgian city of Gori, a
major military and transportation hub.
The Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov reportedly told American Secretary
of State Condoleeza Rice in a phone call that the
president of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, "must go."
This comment prompted the American Ambassador to the
United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, in a United Nations
Security Council session, to charge that Russia's goal in
the war was "regime change."
The United States
increased its public criticism of Russia on Sunday,
August 10, as the Russians and their Abkhazian proxies
opened a second front in their war against the former
Soviet Republic of Georgia. As the U.S. Air Force ferried
Georgia's Iraq contingent back home, American political
and national security officials made some possibly
disturbing public comments:
"[Vice-President
Dick] Cheney was even more pointed, telling
[Georgian President] Saakashvili on Sunday
afternoon that "Russian aggression must not go
unanswered," according to his press secretary.
Briefing reporters
traveling with Bush on Sunday, Deputy National
Security Adviser James F. Jeffrey would not rule out
the use of American force to assist Georgia but said
that was not the current focus of U.S. efforts.
"--Washington
Post, August 10, 2008
With ongoing American
military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United
States realistically has few
options in a
military intervention in the Georgia-Russia War, short of
an all-out war with Russia.
On August 11, Russian
troops were in the Georgian town of Senaki, site of
previous
rebellions
against the Tbilisi government. Senaki is south of
Abkhazia, and the presence of Russians in Senaki's
Samegrelo province is significant in that is indicates
that Russia will not be satisfied with merely ousting
Georgian forces from the breakaway provinces of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia.
Russian air power
continued to pound the city of Gori, which is the
birthplace of Joseph Stalin, at once best known as a
powerfully ruthless Soviet leader, and the best known
Georgian in history. Some reports indicated the fall of
Gori to the Russians, while other reports denied the
city's takeover. Gori is only 45 minutes from the capital
of Tbilisi and contains a major Georgian military
base.
An
Analysis of the Georgia-Russia War of
2008
While the war itself is
not yet over, several points can be examined in how this
conflict unfolded and the early course of the war, as
well as some apparent consequences of this Russia-Georgia
war:
--It now appears
clear that Georgia was duped into attacking South
Ossetia and that the Russians had laid a trap to make
the Georgians fire the first shots, thereby letting
Russia claim to be pushing back an aggressor.
According to Stratfor,
a private American intelligence company, Russian
forces were pre-positioned near the border, therefore
more able to respond quickly to attack the Georgians
when they moved into South Ossetia on August 8. While
the timing of the Georgian attack took the Russians by
surprise, their inability to seize the South Ossetian
capital and thus their delay in pushing on to the
strategically important Roki Tunnel, allowed Russia to
pour troops into Ossetia and force back the Georgian
military.
--Georgia assumed that
because of their cooperation with America in
Iraq,
and their application to join NATO, America would be
more proactive in helping Georgia against Russia. This
appears to have been foolish and naive wishful
thinking. With major American military assets tied
down in Iraq
and Afghanistan,
and with a possible Iran War looming, the United
States is in no position to risk war with Russia.
--Poland, which
suffered from Russian invasions, massacres, and
depredations multiple times in the 20th century, came
to a quick agreement with the United States that will
place an American missile defense base in Poland. This
long-delayed agreement was reached by the Americans
and Poles in an obvious response to what the Poles see
as Russian aggression in Georgia.
From the
Al Jazeera: Russian tanks roll towards Tbilisi - 14
August 2008
From the
Associate Press: A Russian convoy of troops were engaged
in an intense firefight, presumably with Georgian
soldiers at a bridge in Achabet, South Ossetia Monday.
(Aug. 11)
Sources
and Links on the Russia-Georgia War of
2008:
